Re: Network Abuse by Netscape? -- Was: Mosaic replacements, etc...

Mary Morris (marym@Finesse.COM)
Thu, 27 Oct 1994 08:17:41 +0100

I think that the best data for determining how a server will
respond to multiple requests can best be described by the method
that a depth based robot/worm searches the web. How well do we deal
with that extreme and how close to that extreme is Netscape?

Where do you draw the line and say depth based robots/worms are bad but
Netscape using x number of connections is ok?

What is a good number?

IMHO the worms that I have encountered tend to look for a file
that says robots aren't welcome here. I think that servers should
add a response that says only x number of simultaneous connections
are wanted here and the browser should abide by this limit, not
requiring the server to force a limit. If we are all courteous about
this, we may increase the burst rate some, but we won't have
the house of cards fall on us for not respecting others' resources.

Mary

> Thanks Marc for pointing out my error. However, if I were to change the
> default setting in Netscape's ini file to 50, for example, would that
> have the expected effect?
>
> Have you any statistical data on the effect this retrieval strategy has
> on network resources?